Keir Starmer is under huge pressure after Sir Olly Robbins gave explosive evidence on the Peter Mandelson appointment — as he describes an 'atmosphere of pressure' to approve Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.
Julia reacts to the extraordinary claims that Mandelson’s appointment was effectively treated as a done deal before the vetting process had run its course, with senior figures allegedly pushing for approval and little appetite inside government to stop it. If warning signs were already there, why was the process handled in this way? And if Starmer knew more than he later admitted, did he mislead Parliament?
Veteran journalist Adam Boulton joins Julia to give his verdict on Robbins’s defence, the sacking of officials, and whether the Prime Minister has made the crisis even worse by trying to pin blame on everyone around him. Was this simply a disastrous political judgement — or evidence of a deeper culture of arrogance at the heart of Labour?
Also: Blue Labour founder Lord Maurice Glasman tears into the Labour establishment’s obsession with Peter Mandelson, explains why the party is losing working-class voters, and warns that Starmer now looks like a leader with no clear direction and no easy escape.
The allegations discussed in this episode are denied by Peter Mandelson, who has not been charged - as of the time of publishing.
Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.
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